Skip to main content

From solicitors to accountants, community advocates to volunteers, our Board of Directors is made up of a diverse range of people with varying skills, experiences, and expertise. Each individual brings a unique perspective, accumulated insight, and valuable opinions that contribute to the day-to-day functioning of CCHA.

 


 

#DiverseBoardsAreBetter

If you identify as ethnically diverse and have a passion for leadership, our Pathway to Board membership is a continuous professional development opportunity designed to better equip you to contribute to the leadership of an organisation, particularly the housing sector. It will give you with the opportunity to influence how organisations make decisions that affect our communities, and change the face of leadership across Wales. To find out more about this project, please head to our Pathway to Board page. You can also follow Pathway to Board  on Twitter!

Meet the Board

Mike has worked in housing since 1982, retiring in April 2019.  He is a dedicated housing professional and in 2018 won the “lifetime achievement award” for his contribution to Welsh Housing. He was also identified as one of the 10 most influential people in UK housing by a national housing magazine.  He has regularly contributed on housing policy in particular on issues such as rent levels, poverty and social justice.

His most recent role was as Chief Executive of Merthyr Valleys Homes (MVH) which became the first Tenant and Employee mutual in Wales. MVH changed from a large scale stock transfer into a mutual housing organisation in 2015. Mike is currently working with Cornwall Council on the management of their housing services.

Following this work he was invited to become a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts.

Selfie of Mike Owen

Scott is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor and experienced in risk profiling around budgeting, cash flow, development and maintenance work. His current role as Commercial Director at Candleston Homes includes establishing a ‘homes for sale’ business, brand building and strategic development.

Scott lives in Cardiff with his family and outside of work he is running around taking his children to various sport clubs and in his spare time he enjoys most sports including football, rugby, golf and cricket just to name a few.

Janet is a chartered town planner who has worked in practice in policy, community planning, large regeneration projects and master planning new developments.

She is a Senior Lecturer at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Janet teaches on Chartered Institute of Housing accredited undergraduate pathways and leads on the delivery of community courses, as part of the university’s widening access provision. Most recently this has involved teaching cohorts of participants on the Get into Housing project which aims to provide the opportunity to gain meaningful careers in the housing sector.

Janet is also a mentor on the Pathways to Board programme. This is a training academy to support ethnically diverse candidates to successfully gain a board member position.

Janet passionately believes that provision of good quality affordable housing is a key factor for a successful and happy life and is keen to use her skills and experience on the board to help CCHA to continue to make this happen.

Janet has lived in the Roath area of the city, where CCHA has a number of homes, for the past 30 years.

Emma is a CCHA Non-Executive Director and a qualified Social Worker and Music Therapist, specialising in the fields of fostering, adoption and safeguarding.

Emma holds two Vice Chair roles within fostering agencies and practices music therapy with adoptive families.  As well as being operational within the field, Emma also holds a Non-Executive Director role with the regulating social work body, Social Care Wales, where she also sits as the Vice Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee.

Selfie of Emma Britton

Vinita has worked in a number of senior executive roles in the public and not for profit sectors. Currently Executive Director of a Local Enterprise Partnership in SW England, Vinita has run her independent consultancy offering strategic policy support, with particular interest in economic development, transport and consumer issues since 2013. Vinita holds non-executive roles as a director of TravelWatch SouthWest, a small community interest company promoting the interests of transport users and as an independent board member of Bath Spa University where she sits on the Infrastructure and Finance Committees.

Selfie of Vinita Nawathe

Joga is an experienced employment lawyer, currently practising in Cardiff.   He has more than 16 years’ experience of working closely with Board Members and Senior Management Teams in relation to organisational, leadership and workforce development. He provides strategic and commercial advice in relation to all aspects of employment law.

Selfie of Joga Singh smiling

Didi has been an active CCHA tenant since 2016. She has recently completed her degree on Environmental Health. She is now studying MSc Occupational Safety, Health and Wellbeing at Cardiff Metropolitan University. In addition to working in partnership with our HR team as part of the recruitment panel, she is also a member of our green group, a parent governor at Willows High School, and a member of Friends of Willows. Didi supports Splott Community Volunteers Group on their charity work.

A speaker of four languages, she has received numerous awards for her work in the community.

Selfie of Didi Ketter smiling

Neil is a Chartered Accountant and principal in a firm of Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors. He has served on the board as chair of Valleys to Coast Housing Association, the first housing association in Wales to be formed by the large-scale transfer of homes from a local authority. In addition to his role at CCHA, Neil undertakes a similar role at Tai Calon Community Housing where he is a Board member and Chair of Audit and Risk Committee.

Neil is a graduate of Swansea University and trained as an accountant in Pontypridd. He currently lives in Bridgend with his wife and three daughters. He plays an active part in his local community as a leader of an independent church and has a love for most sports.

Neil looks at the camera and smiles. He is wearing a light blue shirt that is slightly unbuttoned at the collar.

Katy is a non-executive Director of Technology Connected, and Deputy Chair of the ICAEW’s Wales Strategy Board.

Katy retired from full time employment in 2021, after 9 years as Chief Executive of Business in Focus, the social enterprise that supports people turning their dreams into successful businesses. Previously she was Chief Executive of Chwarae Teg, the Welsh charity supporting women’s role in the economy.

As a chartered accountant, Katy spent more than 20 years with international accountancy firm KPMG, leading teams delivering a variety of services to businesses across Wales.

She has worked in or around Cardiff for her entire working life, and in all her roles has been interested in how we help our communities to thrive and prosper.

Katy Chamberlain poses for the camera with hands folded in front. She is wearing a pink, sleeveless top and smiling.

Farzana is a qualified accountant and heads up the charity and not-for-profit sector at Carston Chartered Accountants. She has 23 years of experience in the sector, also providing a range of services to a number of registered charities and housing associations.

She has extensive experience in audit and governance related issues and works closely with board members and senior management teams. She is fluent in three languages and strongly promotes ethnic diversification.

A selfie of Farzana

Tobiloba has recently graduated with Honours as a housing student at Cardiff Metropolitan University, who also has a Bachelors in Mass Communication. Her lived experience with inequitable housing spurred her interest in supporting and championing access to equitable housing. This has led her to complete a number of certifications and training in housing, communications and teaching amongst others.

She actively volunteers with Hafod Housing Association as a scrutiny panel member and has previously volunteered at Shelter Cymru. Her current education and multiple internships/projects have enabled her to support her community and she currently acts as an unofficial housing support worker for her elderly neighbour. She spends her personal time ensuring quality moments with her family and friends, supporting her daughters’ interests in the arts (Piano training, certified Level 1, and stagecoach performer), reading, dancing and being a mentor to younger friends and students.

Tobiloba is a member of the Chartered Institute of Housing.

Image of Tobi Owolabi